drawn2draughn

There is a monthly webcast for some of the partners to participate in a Q&A of sorts with the founder of the company and a special guest. Often it is fairly pressing and hot button topics for the far right conservatives and how it concerns Christians. The goal is to peak interest through the visual and encourage participation through the verbiage.

The freedom of creativity with the visuals often fluctuate depending on the topic and the time given to create the art. I’m particularly proud of the torn grunge style flag; it is definitely a more aggressive and modern art approach than is often permitted within the conservative boundaries that tag this company.

Every now and then I get a request from a friend and/or co-workers to tweak an image for them. This latest one was fun; a beautiful church in West Virginia with a goodly amount of power lines obstructing the scenic view. And a meter to boot. The desire was to include the photo of the church on the cover of the member directory and I was more than happy to oblige. I work with CS4 and don’t have that nifty new tool that CS5 has to “smart” stamp out undesirables and so had to use good ol’ imagination and patience to remove the modern encroachments.

I think I did pretty darn good job. What do you think?

Been busy busy busy creating amazing new products; will have to update soon. There is also a great deal of exciting new projects on the horizon as well. So much potential and so little time. Check back soon for updates!

I remember reading the story of Christmas in the little Golden Books as a child and dreaming of how one day I would possibly draw the story myself. What I would do different. What medium I would use. How I would be recognized for the artistic genius that I was.

I challenged myself to the task as a teenager. And immediately was shocked at how difficult it truly was to retell shown a well known story. And I was completely dismayed when my humble artwork fell far short of my childish dreams. Discouraged I put it aside and immediately fell to drawing my favorite Disney characters to put my bruised ego at ease.

A few years ago I was commissioned to draw this blessed story in 9 panels. The images were to be bright, vibrant, and appealing to the young audience. And in that same token also appeal to the older generation.

Anime and caricatures immediately went out the window.

Coming up with the character concepts and mood boards for each one was part of an exciting challenge that my poor starving artist soul desperately needed after having to sideline my career dream of animator to graphic design. The concepts were greeted with great enthusiasm and I was given the green-light to continue with the illustrations.

The story was to follow the Bible as closely as possible and the first 3 panels were given to the immaculate conception, John’s prenatal greeting, and Joseph’s dream. The client wanted to follow historical truth as closely as possible while following the Scripture as well.

I kept in mind the famous blue that follows every image of Mary through the ages. For Elisabeth I remembered, as well, that she had been somewhat advanced in years when she was pregnant with John. And for Joseph, the classic beard that would be traditional among Jewish men at the time.

My chosen medium for this particular project were Prismacolor markers for their saturation and vivid colors that would help the illustrations to jump from the pages. Just a bit nerve wracking for this colored pencil loyalist; but I was a bit concerned with ensuring the comic book brightness once the finished products were scanned for production and maintaining the true colors intended for print.

Let me just, the inner child in me is pretty darned pleased with the end result.

With a special on-site event looming large and quickly (I had less than 24 hours to get this special piece designed and out to the vendor for printing), a special request came to me for a large sign board that would be used repeatedly for future events promoting Superbook with special showings to the attendees.

I drew on my stockpile of images that were quickly becoming staples in the yet-to-be-completed style book. The background vector images gave a whimsical—yet classic—setting for the main characters of the animation. The characters themselves were special modelings based on sketches I had previously provided to the rendering artist to create.

It’s a blessing when you are asked to work on a hot-tracked project and you have all the design components ready and waiting in the sidelines. I love Bridge for this reason; allowing me to quickly flip through my image folders to find exactly what I need to create my projects in near record-setting time.

The showtimes were created as separate documents to become interchangeable for future use. The font, clean and fun, has been a repeat player in many of the projects surrounding Superbook. It’s been perfect for ease of readability without being stiff or the omnipotent Helvetica.

All in all; I find it a fun piece that definitely invokes a childish giggle out of me in eager anticipation for the lights to dim and the camera to roll.

This project was an amazing experience. I was able to use my knowledge with In the Beginning to help me turn this entire thing around in under two weeks.

Of course, it does help that the story of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea lends itself to natural iconic images. My first instinct was to use the actual parting and Moses looming large and in charge. Pharaoh of course plays a secondary—albeit, important—role in this story and gets that villain spot. With the landscape of ancient Egypt laying out the foundation for this well-known story; a beautiful cover emerged for this 3rd edition of the Superbook® stories.

The burning bush, being another iconic image of the Exodus stories, is displayed on the disc label to incorporate some of the better know visuals of this epic story. It was with great relief and giddy pride that the artwork was presented to the Director and passed with flying colors.

The accompanying appeal mailing echoed the cover art of the disc and was greatly appreciated by the department VP and CD as well as the Director. I loved just being re-immersed in the animation world and getting back in touch with the child in me. Playing with the colors to appeal the targeted demographic was a special focus of mine; bright, vibrant hues were a must and I maintained the importance of this throughout the design and press check process.

And, here’s where the horn tooting comes in, my devotion was not unnoticed. For this project I was nominated Employee of the Month—and I am truly humbled that something that I enjoyed doing so very much was equally appreciated. I’m looking forward to the future episodes of Superbook and the excitement that naturally comes with it. Adrenalin pump; here I come!

I admit it. I love country music. Didn’t start off that way; I would memorize Disney lyrics and belt them from the top of my lungs shower style. You know—anyone sounds good in the shower? Poor naive me, I thought I sounded good out of the shower too. Not so much.

Anyway, it wasn’t until a few years after I graduated from college that I got hooked on the down-home goodness that is country music. No apologies here. None. Even if my boss likes to pick on me about it, my affinity made me his first choice for presenting Cross Country in the winter edition of the company’s bi-annual magazine.

This was the result; and the good folks of CBN Radio L-O-V-E-D it. Which tickles me since I do too. The cherry on top (of course), is that nothing pleases me more than to know that I’ve made my client happy.

It was a fairly straightforward design, and the best things in life are the simple things. And that’s what country music is all about—the simple things that make life what it is.